How Not to Jump to Conclusions
by Ronnie Jane
Summary: Barry has a panic attack and Cisco is the only one there and finds out the price Barry had to pay to reset the timeline. Set after the Flash episode 3x15.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Some quotes may belong to The Flash or DC Comics.

Almost everyone had left for the evening after Barry had been hurt, except Cisco who was working in his lab that night trying to figure out how to help Barry defeat Savitar. He also had wanted to keep an eye on Barry after he had been stabbed and had passed out from the pain. He had only been working for an hour when he heard harsh breathing coming from the cortex. Curious, he decided to go see what was wrong with Barry. Upon arriving, he saw Barry crouched down on the floor with his head in his hands. Cautiously he walked over, crouched down in front of Barry and put his hand on Barry's left arm. Then, he was immediately sucked into one of Barry's memories. In the vibe, he saw Thawne telling Barry that the only way that he would fix the timeline was for Barry to ask him to kill his mother. He saw that Barry didn't want to, but Thawne wouldn't let up. Finally, a shocked and hurt Barry who wanted to fix his mistakes asked, and Thawne fixed the timeline.

Quickly pulling himself out of the vibe, he refocused on Barry and noticed that he was having a panic attack, "Barry, if you can hear me try and match your breathing to mine." Barry looked at Cisco, but seemed to not comprehend what he was saying. Upon seeing this, Cisco demonstrated taking a deep breath in through his nose and letting it out slowly through his mouth. Barry caught on and they kept repeating the process for ten minutes until Barry was able to calm down and become more coherent. They then sat on the floor looking at one another in silence until Barry broke it, "What did you see?"

"How did you know that I saw something?"

"I may have been out of it, but I saw your expression when you put your hand on my arm."

Cisco signed and proceeded to sit down out of his crouch, before finally telling Barry what he saw, "I saw what you had to do to reset the timeline."

Barry ran a hand through his hair in frustration and sadness and then replied, "You mean you saw me having to beg Thawne to kill my mother so that the timeline would be reset."

"Yes. Why didn't you tell anyone what you had to do to reset the timeline?

"Because it was my burden to bare and it's not like anyone would have cared. Not with what all I have done." he replied with a resigned tone.

Cisco sat there not believing what he was hearing and yet thinking back to how he had acted to Barry in the last few months. All the times that he had pushed Barry away and made him feel like he didn't belong in the group anymore. The times that he had physically pushed Barry. Then he suddenly understood- Barry felt like he did because of the mistake he had made with the timeline and how he had acted towards him. Taking a breath, he replied," Yes, they would have."

"I'm sorry, but how can you say that? I'm the one that screwed up everyone's lives. I'm the one who-"

"The one who what? What Barry? The one who made a mistake- yes. That doesn't matter now. It's like you said all you can do is keep moving forward- "

"The one who let his mother be killed again," interrupted an angry and upset Barry.

"That's not your fault. You made a choice to reset the timeline to do the right thing and even though it had some unforeseen consequences - you did the right thing. You may have chosen to do that, but Thawne is and always will be the one to blame for your mother's death – not you."

"You're right about Thawne. But no one should care, "replied Barry who looked down at his hands.

"Barry look at me," he said in a forceful tone. Once Barry did, Cisco continued, "Don't you dare say that. Yes, they should have. We should have – I should have. I'm sorry for everything and I know you are too. I forgive you, Barry. I just hope that you can forgive me for the way I've treated you."

"I already have. You were hurting and I get that," he replied. With that, Cisco proceeded to stand up and reached out a hand towards Barry who accepted without hesitation and was pulled onto his feet and into a hug. This lasted a few seconds before they both let go and Cisco looked at Barry's right shoulder and asked, "What were you doing out of bed?"

"I was just headed to get some water and then go lay back down. Iris and I have decided we need some space from each other so, I'm going to stay here until I get my own place."

"You could stay with me."

"I wouldn't want to intrude and we're just starting to get along again."

"You're not intruding and I want things to change."

"Okay," replied Barry with a nod of thanks.

Cisco then proceeded to make a breach to his apartment and then they both walked through. Once there, they went to the kitchen to get a bottle of water and after retrieving them went into the living room and sat down. They drank in silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts about what all had happened that day. After about ten minutes, they both decided to get ready for bed and Cisco went and grabbed some pillows and a red blanket for Barry. Then he helped set up the couch and turned back towards Barry and gave him a concerned look before asking, "Are you sure you'll be all right for the night?"

"Yeah. I'm fine," said Barry in reply.

"How's your shoulder?"

"It's fine."

Cisco gave him a knowing look and replied, "All right. Come get me if you need anything- even if you just need to talk."

"Okay. Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome. You're my friend and you'd do the same for me."

After shooting Barry a concerned look, Cisco went to his room and Barry laid down on the couch. Both were asleep within a few minutes and were content for a few hours. That was until Cisco woke up to the sound of someone screaming, not someone he realized - Barry. He immediately got up and ran to his living room and started to shake Barry's left shoulder," Barry! Barry! Snap out of it! It's just a dream!" Finally, Barry's eyes snapped open and he looked at Cisco who was starring back at him in concern. Sitting up, he replied," No, it's not. It's all real."

"What do you mean?" asked Cisco who sat down beside Barry and waited for an answer.

"Don't worry about it. I'm- "

"So, help me Barry, if you say you're fine again when you woke up screaming- "

Barry huffed and proceeded to run his hand through his hair, while Cisco gave him a challenging stare.

"Cisco, seriously, I'm -"

"Barry- "

"Please drop it," he pleaded.

Cisco who was not used to hearing him plead knew that something was seriously wrong and replied, "No. I can't when my friend is sitting here in pain." Barry looked at Cisco and knew that he wasn't going to let this go and decided to tell him, "I saw my mom's death. I can't help but think it's still my fault that she died. I chose – I chose to let her go."

"It's like I told you earlier you may have chosen to let her go -but Thawne is her killer," he replied. He then reached to put his hand on Barry's right shoulder, before remembering that it probably wasn't healed yet and pulled back. While pulling his hand back, however, he didn't miss the wince that crossed over Barry's face, nor the way he tried to hide it. He waited to see if Barry would say anything and when it appeared that he wasn't said, "Don't lie to me this time. How's your shoulder?"

Barry knew there was no point in trying to hide it anymore and decided to be honest, "It still hurts, but I think it's almost healed."

Cisco nodded and asked, "Can I take a look at your shoulder?"

In reply, Barry nodded and then pulled the collar of his shirt down. Cisco then proceeded to take a look. After examining Barry's shoulder, he said," It looks like it's healing okay. Do you need an ice pack?"

"That would be great."

Cisco got up and returned a few minutes later with a blue ice pack that Caitlin had given him a while ago. While he was gone, Barry had laid back down on the couch and was holding his shoulder. After giving the ice pack to Barry who nodded his head in thanks and put it on his shoulder, he sat down in the arm chair that was opposite of the couch. After taking five minutes to get himself to calm down, Cisco finally spoke, "Why didn't you tell me about your shoulder before?"

"Because I didn't want to worry you and I felt like I deserved it for what all I had put everyone through."

The look that Cisco gave Barry would have been enough to scare Oliver Queen and he would have yelled at Barry if it would have gotten through to him. Instead, he took a few calming breaths, before looking directly in Barry's eyes and telling him in a firm tone, "Listen to me. I don't mind worrying about you. You are my friend- hell my best friend. You do not deserve to be hurt. How long have you felt like this?"

Barry readjusted the ice pack on his shoulder to avoid replying for a moment until finally he met Cisco's gaze and said, "Since I got back and noticed how much has changed."

"Is that why you tried to sacrifice yourself to the Dominators? Because you thought you deserved it?"

"Yes. I thought I could make up for what I had done."

'"Not like that. Everyone- including me- cares about you and would never want to see you do that. It's like I told you that day 'you're not a hero to me. You're my friend."'

"Thank you for being here."

Cisco nodded in reply and then asked, "How do you think we can get Wally out of the speed force?"

"I'll have to go in after him," said Barry with a tone of conviction.

"What if it's a trade?"

"Then I'll send Wally back."

"Barry- "

Barry looked at him with pleading eyes and said, "I can't just leave him in there."

"I get that, but promise me that you'll let us help. Promise me that you'll try to come back."

"I promise."

They stayed in comfortable silence for a few minutes enjoying each other's company until, Cisco noticed that Barry had fallen asleep. From where he was sitting, he noticed that Barry had dark circles under his eyes and seemed paler. Obviously, from lack of sleep and waking up from nightmares and from his injury. He sighed, then got up and grabbed the blanket that had been abandoned at the end of the couch and placed it over Barry, before going back to his room and going to his room to try and get some sleep himself before the next morning.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Some quotes may belong to The Flash or DC Comics.

Despite having a rough night before, Cisco woke up at seven o'clock in the morning. After a few minutes, he persuaded himself to get out of bed and went to check on Barry. Upon arriving in the living room, he saw that Barry was still asleep. He noticed that Barry still looked just as tired and pale as he had been the night before, except now he looked flushed. Concerned, he walked over to Barry and placed the back of his hand to Barry's forehead and confirmed what he thought. Barry was running a fever, but not a high one that you would usually associate with an infection. To be sure, he decided to text Caitlin.

Cisco: Barry is running a low-grade fever. Do you think he's okay?

Caitlin: Does the wound on his shoulder look swollen? Can you send me a picture?

Cisco walked over to Barry and carefully without waking him up looked at the wound and took a picture. Then he sent it to Caitlin. A few minutes later his phone vibrated, signaling her response.

Caitlin: It looks like its healing nicely. He may have a fever because he's been running himself ragged over the last few weeks.

Cisco: That's what I thought too. He needs to take a break. He didn't even wake up when I took this photo. I know we need to get Wally out of the speed force, but we can't let him keep going the way he's going. If we do, he's going to crash even worse than he is right now.

Caitlin: Agreed. Can you keep him there with you today and try to get him to rest? I'll contact the others and let them know what's going on.

Cisco: I'll try, but you know how stubborn he is.

He went to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee, while waiting for Caitlin to text him back. Then he took a seat at his kitchen table and waited. About ten minutes later, his phone vibrated again.

Caitlin: I told everyone about how Barry is doing and how run down he is. They've all noticed it too and said that he should take a break. Joe also said that we all need a mental health day and that he had already called him and Barry out of work. Julian decided to go in to cover the lab at CCPD. We'll see you tomorrow at Star Labs.

Cisco then noticed that his coffee was done and grabbed a blue coffee cup out of the cabinet and made himself a cup. Then as an afterthought, also made himself some toast with butter. Once he had both, then he sat back down at his kitchen table and proceeded to eat while looking up the latest Star Trek news on his phone. After about thirty minutes, he had finished eating and placed his plate in the dishwasher.

Then he got another cup of coffee and went to check on Barry who appeared to be just waking up. After putting his coffee cup down on the table, he proceeded to sit down in the arm chair from last night and waited for Barry to become aware of his surroundings. Slowly Barry tried to sit up and then laid back down with a groan. Once he noticed Cisco, he asked," What time is it?"

"Almost ten o'clock."

Barry immediately tried to sit up again while saying in a panicky voice, "What! Why didn't you wake me up? We have to get Wally out and I'm going to be late for work!"

Cisco held up his hands to try and said, "Dude- Chill! You're running a fever and you're still hurt. Besides I just watched you try to sit up and you couldn't. I've already talked to Caitlin and she along with the rest of the team thought we all needed a mental health day- especially you."

"But what about Wally? We have to get him out."

"We will, but we're no good to him like this. We all need a break. We'll all start tomorrow."

Barry nodded is a resignation, "How did you know that I was running a fever?"

"I got up and you were still asleep and your face was flushed. So, I checked to see and you were and then I texted Caitlin. She wanted me to check your shoulder and send her a picture and I did. She said your wound was healing nicely and that the fever could because you've been running yourself ragged over the past few months."

"Alright. Wait- I slept through all that?"

"Yeah and through me making coffee and toast."

"I guess I'm more tired than I thought."

Cisco then proceeded to give him an I told you so look and then asked, "How long has it been since you had a full night's sleep?"

"Since before Flashpoint."

"Why haven't you said anything?"

"I just- I didn't want to bother anyone."

"I know. That's starting to sound real familiar coming out of your mouth."

"Everyone was already upset. There was no need to add to the strain."

Cisco looked angry and Barry immediately flinched at his glare. Cisco noticed and took a breath to calm himself and replied, "I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at me and the rest of the team. We should have noticed long before now."

"It's not your fault. You all had a reason to be mad at me. It's like I said last night- I forgive you."

"I forgive you too. I just wish we had all noticed."

"It's alright. Maybe instead of being upset with the past, we just accept the mistakes that were made and move on?"

"I'll agree to that on two conditions. That you start telling people when you need something or that you feel bad."

"I'll try."

Cisco gave a resigned nod and then said," Would you like some toast and coffee?"

"Sure."

"I'll be back in a few minutes. You stay there. You're not really in any condition to move around much, based on what I've seen."

Cisco got up and went to the kitchen, poured another cup of coffee and made toast with butter. Then he went back to the living room and saw that Barry had managed to sit up. After passing him the coffee and toast, he returned to his arm chair.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Barry ate his toast and drank his coffee in silence, while Cisco looked at the news on his phone. Surprisingly, everything was quiet in the city. After he had finished looking at the news, he noticed that Barry wasn't on the couch and called out to Barry, who replied that he was taking his dishes into the kitchen. Upon Barry returning, he decided to lay back down on the couch. Cisco who had been watching him, gave him a concerned look and said, "You shouldn't have gotten up. You all right?"

"I've been better. I'm just tired and my shoulder hurts."

"Maybe we could just chill out here and have a movie day?"

Barry nodded in response.

"Would you like to watch Star Trek: The Motion Picture?"

"Sure. It's been a while since we watched that one."

Cisco got up and put the movie in, then returned to his arm chair after pressing play. They then settled in to watch the movie and were content for a while. About halfway through, Cisco noticed that Barry had fallen asleep and smiled. He then felt his phone vibrate and checked to see who it was. Unsurprisingly, it was Caitlin.

Caitlin: How are you and Barry doing?

Cisco: We're fine. I got Barry to eat something and rest. We need to start keeping a better eye on him. I can't believe we didn't notice this earlier. How are you doing?

Caitlin: Agreed. I'm okay. I checked in with everyone else and they are holding up the best they can given the circumstances.

Cisco: Okay.

He sat there for a while watching the rest of the movie. Once the movie was over, he turned the TV off and checked on Barry who was still asleep. Then, he went to the kitchen to get some water and chips. After grabbing his snack, he decided to work on some designs for the upgrades for Ray Palmer's suit. He then sat at the table and worked on his tablet for a few hours.

By the time he decided to quit working on the deigns as it was nearing six o'clock. He returned to the living room and saw the Barry was awake. While sitting down in the armchair, he asked, "Hey, are you feeling any better?"

"Some. My shoulder feels a little better."

"Are you still running a fever?"

"Not sure."

Cisco got up, went over to him and put his hand on Barry's forehead. Then after checking Barry's temperature, he went back to the armchair and said, "I think you still are running a low-grade fever."

"Maybe it'll be gone by tomorrow. At lease I feel some better."

Cisco nodded and then said," Do you want to get pizza and watch Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan?"

"Sure. What kind of pizza do you want?"

"We could get one with plain pepperoni and one with pepperoni, olives and jalapenos?"

Barry agreed and Cisco went to call it in, while Barry set up the movie. After calling their order in, Cisco grabbed some bottles of water, plates and napkins and then returned to the living room. He passed Barry a bottle of water and placed the plates and napkins on the coffee table, before sitting back down in the arm chair. Barry then started the movie.

Thirty minutes later, the doorbell rang announcing the arrival of the pizzas. Cisco was about to get up to get it when Barry got up and went to the door. After getting the pizza's, Barry returned to the living room with them and placed them on the coffee table. They each grabbed a plate, some pizza and napkins then settled in to watch the rest of the movie.

Awhile later they had finished the pizza and decided to clean up. After putting the movie on pause they got up. Barry picked up the trash and Cisco took their dishes and put them in the dishwasher. Once they had cleaned up, they went back and watched the rest of the movie. After the movie was over and they had turned off the TV, Cisco looked over at Barry and said, "I have been and always shall be your friend."

Barry smiled and replied," The same goes for you."


End file.
